Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

In the wake of this morning’s sad announcement about the death of Pope Francis, Christiana Figueres reflects on his important legacy as a champion for environmental and justice causes, and shares some of the late Pope’s own words, reflecting on the landmark Paris Agreement.

Learn more 

🌍 Pope Francis’s words in Profiles of Paris

📜 Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home

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As the US retreats from international climate leadership and looks increasingly inwards, can China step up and steer the global energy transition? And if it can, what shape will that transition take?

In the latest of our country deep-dives, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore China’s pivotal and complex role in decarbonising our world. At home, the nation is a technology superpower, the driver behin...

What happens when the US tears up the rulebook on global trade? And what does that mean for the planet? Plus: what on earth is happening in Greenland? And does it really signal an unlikely MAGA embrace of climate science?

In this urgent and wide-ranging episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore the fallout from Trump’s new global tariffs, reflect on the environmental movement’s complex relationsh...

How have fossil fuel lobbyists become so embedded in the COP system, and how can we disrupt their involvement in domestic and international politics? This is our second episode inspired by the RSC and Good Chance Theatre’s production of Kyoto.

In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore the history of this often unseen influence, ask why fossil fuel lobbyists have become so embedded in the ...

What did it take to get nearly 200 nations to agree on tackling climate change in 1997? And what have we learned in the decades since?

In this episode, we reflect on the drama, the impact and the legacy of the Kyoto Protocol, and go behind the scenes of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s powerful and acclaimed production of Kyoto, currently playing in London’s West End.

After watching a performance of the play this week, Christi...

Is Canada a climate leader or a fossil-fueled dinosaur? And what will the recent ascension of Mark Carney as Prime Minister mean for the country’s climate agenda - both domestically and on the world stage?

In the second of our country deep-dives, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac speak with Catherine McKenna, Canada’s former Minister of Environment and Climate Change, to discuss the mixed history, uncertain present and p...

How can the law be used to champion human rights, drive progress and fight for climate justice? Paul Dickinson is joined by Laura Clarke, CEO of ClientEarth, the non-profit lawyers for the planet working to protect life on Earth. 

Laura shares how ClientEarth has successfully challenged corporate greenwashing, from the Dutch courts ruling against airline KLM for misleading customers, to forcing a Polish company to chan...

Are women the key to solving the climate crisis? Why are they - and children - so disproportionately affected by the issue? And how can men step up to support change? 

To mark International Women’s Day, Christiana Figueres is joined by top climate scientist Dr Katharine Hayhoe. 

As well as being Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair at Texas Tech University, Katharine is an influential voice in communicating sci...

Development programmes across the world are still reeling from the swingeing cuts to USAID, whilst other western nations such as the UK and Germany have announced plans to scale back their own aid commitments.

With Mike Bloomberg agreeing to fill the gap in climate funding left by the US's withdrawal from Paris, is it up to wealthy philanthropists to fill the hole of state funding? Is it realistic or appropriate for them to do s...

How does a nation transform its forest coverage from 21% to 60% in half a century? What are the policies that can place nature at the very heart of political thinking? And why does Christiana Figueres see a picture of her dad when she visits an ATM?

Christiana is joined in her home country by co-hosts Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson as they explore Costa Rica’s remarkable history and constitutionally guaranteed environmen...

What is the future of climate action? Having previously interrogated the failures of multilateralism in the years since the Paris Agreement was signed, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson look to the future and the alternative ‘levers of change’ that will tackle the climate crisis. 

These avenues are needed now more than ever after a whirlwind of executive orders and policies passed by President Donald...

Christiana Figueres, the driving force behind the groundbreaking Paris Climate Agreement, reflects on the high-stakes negotiations that reshaped the global fight against climate change in the year that marks its ten-year anniversary. With the fate of the planet hanging in the balance, she reveals the relentless pushback from the fossil fuel lobby, and the ever-shifting geopolitical tensions that threaten progress. Will the world st...

What’s an NDC? What does El Niño tell us about global temperatures this year? And why could a landmark ICJ ruling unlock a wave of climate legal cases? Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson break down the climate acronyms and buzzwords you need to know in 2025.

With a crucial year ahead for climate action, this podcast is your essential guide to the key terms shaping global discussions. From breaking down BR...

What will a Trump presidency mean for the climate movement? Hours after Trump takes office for the second time, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson regroup to take stock and share their reactions to the US withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. Guest Greg Bertelsen, chief executive of the Climate Leadership Council, offers his perspective on positive ways in which to engage with the Trump presidency on c...

The devastating fires in LA have dominated the headlines in a dramatic start to 2025. Christiana Figueres,Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson discuss their link with climate, as the newly-released Copernicus report confirms the world has exceeded 1.5 degrees of warming. 

And, in the year that marks halfway in the decisive decade for world emissions, our hosts are here with your definitive guide to the biggest climate momen...

Outrage + Optimism is for anyone who is not ready to give up on making the world a better place. Feeling exhausted at the thought of keeping up with climate news ahead of this pivotal year? Join Christiana, Tom and Paul in their weekly conversations to make sense of it all, bringing you expert insight, analysis and inspiring conversations with some of the world’s most visionary thinkers and influential decision makers. Subscribe to...

How can you reduce the environmental impact of your cat or dog? What’s the best way to prepare for climate breakdown? And how should you talk to children about climate? Christiana, Paul and Tom wrap up the year by answering an eclectic and insightful selection of your questions. 

Ben Rhodes—writer, political commentator, and former Deputy National Security Advisor under President Obama—joins the host team to dissect the challenges of a Trump 2.0 administration.

Rhodes issues a bold call for a new "climate populist" stra...

This week, Christiana, Tom and Paul tackle the latest on the global plastics treaty (known as INC-5), which ended last week without a deal. Why were countries unable to agree a deal despite the huge amount of public concern about plastic pollution? What pathways remain for an agreement in 2025? And why is it so important to maintain focus...